As a parent who is about to divorce, you might look to get as much time with your child as possible. Yet sometimes, it is quality rather than quantity that matters.
Research shows it is best for the child when both parents continue to take an active role in their life. It can be good for you as parents too. It gives each of you time to follow your interests and can help you appreciate time with your child more.
How can you maximize the time you spend with your child?
Think about how life is now. There are 168 hours in a week. How many of those do you spend at work? How many hours do your children spend out of the house at school or in organized activities?
When you are all together in the house, what happens? How much time do you spend eating, playing or sitting together? How many hours are your children in their room or you in your home office? Once you note things down, you may find you do not spend as much time with your child as you thought. So sharing custody may not be such as sacrifice after all.
Whatever agreement you come to, the important thing is to make the most of your time with your child. That does not mean you need to plan every minute, far from it. However, knowing you only have a limited amount of time can help you make the most of it.
Child custody arrangements only last until your child turns 18 years old. The sooner you can reach an acceptable custody arrangement with the other parent, the sooner you can focus on enjoying time with your child.